SUBJECT: Interactive and unexpected installations throughout First Hill as part of Art Interruptions 2014

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8/14/2014 10:00:00 AM

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Interactive and unexpected installations throughout First Hill as part of Art Interruptions 2014Ten artists have integrated artworks on streets and in parks, on view through October

SEATTLE (August 7, 2014) — Temporary artworks intended to elicit surprise, beauty or humor are dotted through First Hill via the Art Interruptions series produced by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. The artworks, intended to last for eight to ten weeks, appear on city sidewalks and in parks, offering a brief interruption in viewers' day. Ten artists have created temporary installations, most of which are on view through early October, though dates vary depending on the type of artwork. Projects range from silk panels printed with photographs and paired with audio recordings to an interactive carnival-like cutout for photo opportunities. Be Vintage is particularly tied to the neighborhood, as the artists interviewed octogenarians living in First Hill for a series of advertisements for exercise, diet and love. The Art Interruptions program was launched in 2012. A map of all installations is located here.

Administered in partnership with Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Seattle Parks and Recreation, Art Interruptions is funded with SDOT 1% for Art funds and administered by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.

About the Artworks:

Megumi Shauna AraiA TributeAt the new First Hill Streetcar stop at the intersection of Boren/Broadway/TerraceLarge silk panels have been printed with Megumi Shauna Arai's photographs of local artists as part of her series, Hand History. These silk panels have been hung from trees at the intersection of Boren, Broadway and Terrace.

Rick AraluceThe Difficult Journey of the PastAt Canyon Fountain within Freeway ParkThis miniature architectural sculpture is sited in the midst of the Canyon fountain in Freeway Park. The artwork portrays an old brick apartment of the variety that once dominated the heart of Seattle and so many American cities. Its presence on the plinth may call to mind the vanished and disappearing architecture of another age, of a time when craftsmanship and character were important features in a dwelling—even a humble and unpretentious one. The work's inaccessibility may remind the viewer that the past is vanished, never to be reclaimed. It is created to be open to the elements: the water, the wind and sun. There is the hope that birds might take up residence within its sheltering space. This artwork in its entirety has been created by the artist.

Zack BentA Bent Tree Won't BreakIn a private vacant lot on the west side of 9th Avenue, mid-block between James Street and Jefferson StreetResponding to the practice of cabling and bracing trees in order to correct unruly growth, Zack Bent has applied his own unique micro-managed and over-stretched supports to a tree for visual and metaphorical effect. The anthropomorphized tree and its various props become stand-ins for behavior and encounters with external forces. The artist was inspired by the pathetic and strange methods applied to ‘set these trees straight'.

Graham DowningNot Not Free
This installation will migrate over the course of several months: The first location is a construction debris chute at University Street and Summit Avenue (Aug.1-31); the second is in the 8th Avenue underpass in Freeway Park (Sept.1-30); and the final location is at 1501 Boylston Avenue/Seattle Physicians and Surgeons Bldg. (Oct.1-31).Graham Downing has created a series of paintings without an owner. Installed first on construction site, and then moving to two other locations, the artist is "metaphorically sending the paintings like babies down the river in a basket," in hopes to "give them richer lives." The artist states that he hopes they "are stolen and broken and left alone."

Jason HirataI Hope To Do No Harm, Yet I Cause Harm
The artist will be present along the designated route on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Please follow the artist on twitter at @jhirata for information on the intended schedule.
Jason Hirata's project revolves around training a murder of crows to migrate throughout First Hill by initiating a series of encounters whereby the crows become familiar with him and recognize him as a source of food. The intended consequence is that the crows will assemble at times and places where he is present.

Robb KunzSound Showers
Within Freeway Park, mounted to two light poles just west of the 8th Avenue underpassAn installation of acoustic domes providing sound showers – short spurts of audible strangeness from somewhere else in the world.

Eric Olson & Sam WildmanBe VintageThis installation has multiple locations within Freeway Park and the Washington State Convention and Trade Center Plaza.
Be Vintage is a series of advertisements for a diet plan based on interviews with octogenarians living in First Hill. The interviewees were asked about advice for younger generations concerning exercise, diet and love. The advertisements consist of seven outdoor banners on light poles, two large horizontal banners, a trifold brochure, and a website (http://bevintage.org) containing the interviews and volunteer opportunities with seniors in the neighborhood.

Serrah RussellGeographics on First Hill
Multiple locations around First Hill, including Yesler Terrace, Harborview Medical Center, Frye Art Museum and Trinity Church
Serrah Russell creates layers of landscape with her ongoing series, Geographics, where she photographs National Geographic magazines in local terrain. Placing found imagery of the past into a new landscape, she removes it from its original context and draws attention to the shifts of time and transformation of environment. These photographs are then placed within a new First Hill environment, further echoing and contrasting both image and landscape.

Erin Shafkind & Will Gundy of the Cabbage Tree MobHi. I am not home right now.
Multiple locations within Freeway Park near the Piggott Corridor and Canyon Fountain and another location on the south side of the Frye Art Museum at Cherry Street and Terry Avenue
Carnival cutouts featuring old timey images comment on the tools we live with and perhaps the ones we miss. They are an analog approach to the reminiscence of the past. Take a picture and tag it with #cabbagetreemob on Facebook and Instagram.

Joana Stillwell & Yael NovFool's Fool's Gold
Two locations: one at the northeast corner of Columbia Street and 8th Avenue and one at the northwest corner of Broadway and Alder
Kintsugi is the ancient Japanese technique of repairing broken pottery with seams of lacquer, gold or silver. It speaks to breakage and repair becoming part of the history and character of the object and thus adding to its beauty. Inspired by the philosophies of Kintsugi, Joana Stillwell and Yael Nov are "repairing" the cracks and breaks in the sidewalks with hand-made fool's gold. This "fool's fool's gold" will highlight both the fragile and unremarkable character of the surrounding environment.